The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2016 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 3, 2016, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

Everyone in Detective Superintendent Trish Pharaoh’s meeting in
London is abuzz over the Headhunters, which aims to take control of all
criminal activities now being led by smaller regional groups. So far they’ve
succeeded in making offers no crime boss could refuse—and any who did refuse
died horrible deaths. But the Headhunters haven’t been able to convince
81-year-old Francis Nock and his enforcer, Raymond Mahon, who’ve run a criminal
enterprise in the Hull area since before most of the upstarts were born.
Pharaoh is most concerned about the welfare of her friend DS Aector McAvoy,
who’s living in a small room with his son. His wife, Roisin, and their baby
daughter have been hidden away ever since their house was blown up and Aector was
attacked and left for dead by someone with a major grudge, perhaps an angry
drug dealer. At the conference, Pharaoh is approached by a woman from the Home
Office who insists she get McAvoy, still on sick leave and lost without Roisin,
to take a job investigating a multiple murder case from 50 years earlier.
Originally declared insane, the presumed killer is now considered fit for
trial, and McAvoy is supposed to look into the case and see if there’s enough
evidence to go ahead. Hardworking and honest, McAvoy is still widely hated by
some of his fellow police officers for bringing down a crooked but popular
copper. He soon learns that not only has much of the decades-oldevidence
vanished, but there’s a chance someone else committed the crime. As the
Headhunters fight for dominance with help from crooked cops, Pharaoh and McAvoy
discover almost too late that their cases are intertwined and more than one
villain is eager to see them both dead.

Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.